Phase transition and thermal stability of epitaxial PtSe nanolayer on Pt(111).

This work relates to direct synthesis of the two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalchogenide (TMD) PtSe using an original method based on chemical deposition during immersion of a Pt(111) surface into aqueous NaSe solution. Annealing of the sample induces significant modifications in the structural and electronic properties of the resulting PtSe film. We report systematic investigations of temperature dependent phase transitions by combining synchrotron based high-resolution X-ray photoemission (XPS), low temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy (LT-STM) and low energy electron diffraction (LEED). From the STM images, a phase transition from TMD 2H-PtSe to PtSe alloy monolayer structure is observed, in agreement with the LEED patterns showing a transition from (4 × 4) to (√3 × √3)R30° and then to a (2 × 2) superstructure. This progressive evolution of the surface reconstruction has been monitored by XPS through systematic de-convolution of the Pt4f and Se3d core level peaks at different temperatures. The present work provides an alternative method for the large scale fabrication of 2D transition metal dichalchogenide films.